New Delhi
Kerala’s drug problem is huge. Not only has the state become a major transit and entry point, the consumer market, too, has gone up considerably. Under the scanner of the agencies are the suppliers, the carriers and now the consumers as well. High profile parties which are held in luxury hotels have come increasingly under the scanner in recent months.
In addition to this, the police have learnt that the demand for marijuana has gone down considerably and this has been replaced by heroin, MDMA and ecstasy.
An official said that drug smugglers are using multiple tactics in Kerala to smuggle and supply drugs. While the coastal route still remains the most active, the focus of the agencies has shifted to the migrant workers who are today the primary carriers of drugs.
The same touts who get the migrant workers into Kerala are the ones who are telling these persons to supply the drugs.
The migrant workers are lured into the trade by offering them money. Those who refuse to supply the drugs are threatened that they would be sent back to their respective states or country, an official added.
If one looks at the recent cases in Kerala, an increasing number of these workers have been booked. They are mainly used to supply heroin, investigations have found.
Over the last one-and-half years nearly 103 migrant workers have been booked by the agencies. These workers are from Assam and other northeastern states and on many occasions they have been caught at the railway station after they reach the state.
This suggests a clear pattern and it is not just drugs that enter through the coastal or aerial route which are being supplied by these migrants. There have been numerous times when they had got the drugs in from their respective states and then supplied it in Kerala. Another official said that the shift from ganja to heroin was made not only because of its higher demand. Ganja is easier to detect when compared to heroin as it is more potable.